The return of Rahul Gandhi to Parliament has, no doubt, enthused his party but a lot depends on whether it gives impetus to the united Opposition ‘INDIA’ bloc. Congress politicians as well its cadre are obviously in high spirits since the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the victory in Karnataka.

The yatra helped cement Gandhi’s centrality not only to the Congress but also to the larger Opposition coalition. Many Congress supporters feel the stage is now set for a rejuvenated Gandhi to undertake a third and final act – the role of the primary challenger to Prime Minister and BJP star campaigner Narendra Modi, as he has brought out issues that have embarrassed Modi.

Moreover, analysts believe that Modi appears to be quite anxious of him as Gandhi and his team have repeatedly focused on the government’s pro-rich approach and the neglect of the poor and the marginalised sections. However, it needs to be pointed out that Rahil has remained steadfast about certain core issues that other members of the ‘INDIA’ alliance have compromised on. The most significant has been his rhetoric against the all-consuming crony capitalism of the Modi era.

What is of critical importance is that Rahul’s disqualification from Parliament and of him being asked to vacate his official residence in a tearing hurry, not seen before, did not go down well with the people. Rather, the BJP was clearly on the wrong foot as its action generated sympathy for the Congress leader among the people.

At the same time, Rahul has taken a grass-root approach, visiting the marginalised and impoverished sections and even standing by with the people of Manipur, who have been greatly affected by violence unleashed since May 3. The Congress has clearly enunciated its position of giving more importance to welfare objectives, employment generation and rejuvenating the rural populace by trying to increase their incomes.  A case in point being Karnataka.   

One cannot doubt the fact that the grand old party has shrivelled over the last three decades because it has lost this space to many regional parties. It is seeking to instrumentalise the increasing national relevance of Rahul Gandhi to regain some of this. One can argue that his projection as the Prime Minister might help the party in certain States where it faces rival claimants in this space. Though of course, this is unlikely to happen as the INDIA bloc is keeping the PM face out of all its unity efforts.

However, the Congress appears to be veering round the view that its share with Rahul at the head may benefit the party in triangular fights in Punjab, Delhi and Telengana. The aura of national leadership around him can also potentially have a marginal impact in states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, particularly in the mobilisation of the traditional Congress base among Muslims and Dalits. But a lot depends on how the seat-sharing formula among the united Opposition pans out in the various States. 

An NDTV-CSDS survey from May painted a revealing picture as it estimated that Congress had increased its vote share to 29 percent – a jump of nearly 10 points from its 2019 vote share while BJPs vote share was 39 percent, adding just 2 percent points. However, these votes were not coming from the BJP but from regional parties. But in Karnataka, the Congress managed to get a sizeable percentage of votes from its arch rival and form the government for which Rahul Gandhi and his Bharat Jodo Yatra had a big role.

It is understood that the Bharat Jodo Yatra may be revived, which would undoubtedly go a long way in boosting up the image of Rahul as also his party. If such a journey takes place it would certainly go through damaged parts of the North-east. But though some analysts have questioned whether the Congress would end up devoting all its resources to such an exercise, this is possibly not quite justified as this would help the party in the coming State elections at the end of the year.

Though Rahul has effectively criticised the government of the BJP sprinkling kerosene all over the country in inciting violence through communal discord, it is indeed difficult to point out how effectively he would be able to counter the poison of Hindu nationalism in the coming months.

As is well known, religion, and aggressive religion, has been promoted in an ugly manner and pervaded all spheres of society. The half-educated populace, specially of the northern and western India, have been greatly influenced with this as Muslims and their rule over the country has been portrayed in such a manner as to show how mean and unscrupulous they were and how much they exploited the Hindu community.

History is now being distorted and there is an all-round attempt to project nationalism through the eyes of the Hindutva movement. The Congress and Rahul would have to counter the government over its failure in the social and economic front with price rise, unemployment and underemployment increase and welfare schemes being curtailed. Added to this, the education sector has been greatly affected as research funds are also being drastically reduced.      

Meanwhile, it is encouraging to note that Gandhis seem to be working splendidly with Mallikarjun Kharge as Congress President as the latter brings the synergy of belonging to a subaltern social group and years of political experience. Yet there are gaping gaps in the party’s strategy, especially when it comes to Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 MPs to Parliament. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has given up charge of the State where the Congress is rudderless, but she appears to be unable to even stagger up. The BJP’s national strategy is centred on maximising numbers in this State in the face of potential losses elsewhere.

The question now arises of rejuvenating the Congress and obviously making it stronger before the next Lok Sabha elections or even earlier. There is a need for more grassroot contacts by Rahul and the Congress leaders in places where they think they have a good following.

Meanwhile, the BJP has already announced the first list of candidates for elections to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and the Congress should not lag behind. As of now, it looks the party is well entrenched and has regained some lost ground. While MP may be a tough battleground, it should not be difficult to retain power in Chhattisgarh, according to media reports.

Finally, it needs to be reiterated that the focus of the Congress campaign has to be on uplifting the conditions of the backward sections and the economically weaker sections who have not gained from the policies of the ruling dispensation. Added to this the social and economic crisis needs to be highlighted.

Other issues that have cast a shadow on society should also be brought to focus which include the lack of autonomy and funds for institutions of higher learning, communal disturbances, autocratic behaviour of the present government, conflict with the judiciary etc. One cannot deny the fact that there is need for a different approach which should concentrate on development of the rural sector, i.e. making our late President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdual Kalam’s vision of PURA (providing urban facilities in rural areas) a reality. —INFA